Engineers Sweep Babson In Sunday Doubleheader

BABSON PARK, Mass. - Sophomores David Nole and Thomas Phillips combined to go 7-for-14 with two homeruns, six runs scored, and six RBIs as the MIT Engineers swept a NEWMAC doubleheader at Babson College on Sunday afternoon. Babson entered the game ranked #8 in the New England Region according to the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball NCAA Division III Poll. MIT (5-3, 2-0 NEWMAC) won game one, 4-1, and then capped off the sweep by hanging on for victory in game two, 10-9.

In game one, MIT scored its first run in the top of the second when Nole led off with a double to right and scored on a two-bagger by junior Kevin Wheeler. The Engineers pushed another run across in the fourth, as Philips doubled to left, moved to third on a single by Nole, and scored on a fielding error to make it 2-0. The Engineers' final two runs came in the top of the sixth, as senior Jason Witzberget singled and scored all the way from first on a Phillips double down the left field line. Two batters later, Wheeler plated Phillips with a single up the middle, securing the 4-1 win for MIT.

MIT sophomore Chris D'Annunzio was outstanding on the hill in game one, giving up just one unearned run on four hits while striking out four in seven innings. The only run he allowed came in the bottom of the fifth, when Babson sophomore Bryan Evans led off with a double and took third on an error. He would score two batters later when senior Billy Lucas lifted a sacrifice fly to center, which at the time cut the Beavers' deficit in half, 2-1.

Junior Jon Igoe started and went 5 1/3 innings for Babson, giving up four runs, three earned, on eight hits. Sophomore Matt Barton came on in the sixth and tossed 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.

Both teams struggled defensively in game two, which saw the squads combine for 13 errors that led to nine unearned runs. With the scored knotted at 4-4, MIT took the lead for good in the top of the fourth, when freshman Stewart Park singled in D'Annunzio for the go-ahead run. One inning later, Nole made it 7-4 when he blasted his first home run of the season over the wall in right, scoring Phillips ahead of him.

Babson got back to within one in the bottom of the fifth, when first-year Peter O'Toole drove in Evans with a single to left and sophomore Kevin McCarthy followed with an RBI double to center that scored Lucas, making it 7-6. However, things fell apart for the Beavers in the top of the sixth, as Babson committed four errors that resulted in three MIT runs. Witzberger recorded the Engineers' only hit in the inning - a two-run single to left that scored freshman Ben Bersanti and sophomore Stephen Toth, as the visiting team took a 10-6 lead.

Junior Steve Tahmoush pulled the Beavers back to within striking distance in the bottom of the seventh when he ripped the team's first home run of the season over the wall in right-center, scoring McCarthy to make it 10-8. Babson then added another run in the eighth to get to within just one, as O'Toole lined a single to center that scored junior pinch-runner Andrew Nodine from second.

Babson threatened again in the ninth, as the Beavers put runners on first and second with two outs. Sophomore reliever Steven Nunez then uncorked a wild pitch that put the tying run on third and the winning run on second, but Park successfully handled a grounder to short by Evans and threw out the Babson sophomore by a half step to end the ball game.

Nole went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs in game two for MIT, while Phillips went 1-for-3 including the team's first homer of the season, two runs scored and two driven in. Sophomore Matt Loper pitched 3 1/3 innings of relief to earn the win for MIT, while Nunez got the last out for his second save.